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Science 19 April 1985:
Vol. 228. no. 4697, pp. 340 - 344
DOI: 10.1126/science.228.4697.340
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Articles

Taphonomy and Herd Structure of the Extinct Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteus

ANTHONY D. BARNOSKY 1

1 Section of Vertebrate Fossils, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

Fossils of the late Pleistocene elk Megaloceros giganteus from Ballybetagh bog, near Dublin, Ireland, indicate that males segregated from females during winters. The segregation implies seasonal rutting and polygynous mating and is consistent with the idea that large antlers functioned for social display. Within male groups, winterkill was the chief cause of death and was highest among juveniles and small adults with small antlers. There is no evidence to support the popular conception that heavy antlers caused animals to drown or become mired.

Submitted on October 12, 1984
Accepted on December 7, 1984


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Assessing the Causes of Late Pleistocene Extinctions on the Continents.
A. D. Barnosky, P. L. Koch, R. S. Feranec, S. L. Wing, and A. B. Shabel (2004)
Science 306, 70-75
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Demography of late Miocene rhinoceroses (Teleoceras proterum and Aphelops malacorhinus) from Florida: linking mortality and sociality in fossil assemblages.
(2003)
Paleobiology 29, 412-428


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